KEY POINTS:
Two face-saving second-half goals from Waitakere United debutantes Benjamin Totori and Neil Emblen saved the defending Oceania Champions League titleholders some embarrassing blushes at Fred Taylor Park yesterday.
Trailing French Polynesian champions AS Manu Ura 0-1 with 16 minutes to play, United used their get-out-of-jail-free card to sneak home 2-1 on the back of a double-strike in a timely four-minute burst.
While the result was, in the end, pleasing enough, the manner in which the home side kick-started their summer of soccer - which includes next month's trip to the Fifa World Club Cup in Japan - was way short of what they will need to be in serious contention for a second O-League crown.
United's first 45 minutes of the new season were less than memorable, the second not a lot better.
There was a decided lack of urgency and little go-forward against a team who bounced back from a disappointing 0-6 opener against Auckland City four days earlier.
The Tahitians, particularly in the first half, were handed an armchair ride by a limp United effort.
The visitors were well-served at the back with the Temarama Tauihara-led defence and a series of well-timed tackles keeping a tight rein on a United attack which struggled to produce even one decent shot in anger.
Goalkeeper Jonathan Torohia was under-employed, his only even half-anxious moment coming late in the spell when he was forced to block a long-range Jake Butler effort and then could only watch as Butler pounded the rebound over the bar.
The static Waitakere back four also had few real concerns, although they had to remain aware of the threat Auguste Washetine, Hiashi Kake and Billy Mataitai posed with their pace.
The deadlock was broken two minutes into the second half when Mataitai broke strongly on the right, played a ball across the face of the United goal to Washetine, who played back to the centre of the goal from where United goalkeeper Simon Eaddy parried to Kake who scored. As panic set in and hopes slipped away, United won a throw on the left.
Shane Pascoe picked out Emblen, who back-headed to Totori who threw himself in the air to steer his bicycle kick on to the far post and into the goal. Waitakere went in search of the winner and found it in the 79th minute, when Emblen ran on to a well-weighted long ball from right back Jonathan Perry and snapped his first-time shot home.
Recalled United coach Chris Milicich was relieved with the late charge but not a lot else.
"We won. We were incredibly flat and not into it but we won."
There is huge room for improvement and that will need to come quickly.
United return to the same ground on Saturday to open their New Zealand Football Championship season against Team Wellington, whose coach, Stu Jacobs, was an interested spectator yesterday.
On what he saw he would have left with some hope of getting something when he returns. But he might find Milicich has made changes and will surely not leave Emblen and Totori out of his starting XI next time.
